Go Organic: Top 10 Christmas gifts for gardeners

Felco secateurs are not the cheapest but they will last a lifetime if you look after them

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With Christmas just around the corner those of you with a gardener in your life may need a few present suggestions.

Most gardeners shun the gadgets and gizmos that appear in the gift catalogues which drop out of the Sunday papers at this time of year.

We’re of a practical bent.

So in no particular order here’s the Go Organic top 10 Christmas gifts for gardeners.

1. Nematodes are microscopic worms which kill slugs underground. They are effective on lighter soils during the warmer months when slugs are most active, but they are not cheap. A single treatment costs around £11 but you can spend as much as £70.

2. Haws long-reach watering cans are the Rolls Royce of irrigation. Made in Britain out of galvanised steel, they are both functional and elegant. From around £45.

3. Good quality tools are not cheap and most gardeners are too tight to buy them for themselves. Spoil them with a pair of secateurs from Swiss manufacturers Felco. They cost around £40, but will last a lifetime.

4. A year’s membership of Garden Organic – Europe’s largest organic gardening society supports amateur enthusiast like me with help and information as well as a 10 per cent discount on many items from the Organic Gardening Catalogue (OGC). Membership costs £33.

5. A pocket steel will keep bladed tools sharp which means they are easier to use and make a cleaner cut. OGC sell an excellent one for £12.95.

6. Soaker hoses are buried underground which means the water stays at the roots and is not lost to evaporation. You can buy a 30 metre hose for around £12.

7. Rootrainers are seed containers made specially for deep rooted plants. They unfold like a book, allowing you to remove the seedlings without damaging them. They are simply brilliant and cost from around £8.

8. Tubtrugs are oversized buckets which bend and fold. Practically indestructible they are brilliant all-purpose garden containers. The large ones cost around £6.

9. String. Gardeners always need more string. The best is natural jute twine still made in Dundee by Nutscene for around £3.